A new study by NerdWallet examined the pay of Illinois CEOs running some of America’s largest corporations. The study finds that the CEOs of S&P500 companies based in Illinois were paid an average of $13.3 million in 2011, 3.5% more than the national average of $12.8 million.

Greg Brown of Motorola Solutions took home the biggest pay package with $29.3 million. On the other end of the spectrum, Stericycle’s CEO, Mark Miller, was paid the least of any CEO in the group, with a total compensation of only $4.3 million.

S&P500 Companies in Illinois, Ranked by CEO Compensation

Rank

Company

CEO

2011 Compensation

Headquarters

1

Motorola Solutions, Inc.

Gregory Q. Brown

$29,329,052

Schaumburg

2

Abbott Laboratories

Miles D. White

$24,010,902

Abbott Park

3

Beam, Inc.

Bruce Carbonari

$23,260,224

Deerfield

4

Boeing Co.

W. James McNerney Jr.

$22,958,313

Chicago

5

Kraft Foods

Irene Rosenfeld

$21,944,694

Northfield

6

Deere & Co.

Samuel R. Allen

$18,802,364

Moline

7

Ventas, Inc.

Debra Cafaro

$18,498,831

Chicago

8

Caterpillar, Inc.

Douglas R. Oberhelman

$16,902,023

Peoria

9

Northern Trust Corp.

Frederick H. Waddell

$14,305,400

Chicago

10

Baxter International

Robert L. Parkinson, Jr.

$14,065,479

Deerfield

11

Discover Financial Services

David W. Nelms

$13,890,296

Riverwoods

12

Illinois Tool Works, Inc.

David B. Speer

$12,499,367

Glenview

13

Hospira, Inc.

F. Michael Ball

$12,337,007

Lake Forest

14

Walgreen’s

Gregory D. Wasson

$12,116,245

Deerfield

15

Aon Corporation

Gregory C. Case

$12,017,531

Chicago

16

Exelon Corporation

John W. Rowe

$11,716,004

Chicago

17

Equity Residential

David J. Neithercut

$11,307,446

Chicago

18

Allstate Corporation

Thomas J. Wilson

$11,179,816

Northbrook

19

Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Patricia Woertz

$11,079,862

Decatur

20

Dover Corporation

Robert A. Livingston

$10,914,685

Downers Grove

21

Molex, Inc.

Martin P. Slark

$10,388,719

Lisle

22

Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.

Stephen W. Golsby

$10,296,458

Glenview

23

W.W. Grainger

James T. Ryan

$9,198,031

Lake Forest

24

McDonald’s Corporation

James A. Skinner

$8,750,893

Oak Brook

25

CF Industries Holdings

Stephen R. Wilson

$7,118,097

Deerfield

26

Integrys Energy Group

Charles A. Schrock

$6,269,965

Chicago

27

DeVry, Inc.

Daniel Hamburger

$6,136,156

Downers Grove

28

R.R. Donnelley & Sons

Thomas J. Quinlan

$6,059,714

Chicago

29

Chicago Mercantile Exchange

Craig S. Donohue

$6,000,074

Chicago

30

Stericycle, Inc.

Mark C. Miller

$4,262,104

Lake Forest

How Do Illinois Executives Compare?

The average compensation of the Illinois-based CEOs was 3.5% greater than the national average, but Illinois was not the highest compensated state. This honor went to nearby Indiana, with average compensation exceeding $33 million. In all, five states had higher average CEO pay in 2011 than Illinois, including New York and California where 10% of CEOs work.

The following table lists the ten states with the highest average executive pay. Each state’s average was determined using at least five companies.

Top 10 States According to Average Compensation of S&P500 Executives:

State

Average Compensation in 2011

Indiana

$33,242,391.67

California

$21,217,046.20

New York

$16,580,626.65

Maryland

$16,421,480.63

Arizona

$14,429,735.00

Illinois

$12,945,445.78

Connecticut

$12,528,214.06

Arkansas

$12,345,602.75

New Jersey

$12,125,327.90

Georgia

$11,901,875.71

Illinois also exceeded national averages in female CEO pay. The median compensation for female CEOs of S&P500 companies in the United States was $11.1 million last year while in Illinois the median female CEO was paid $18.5 million.

Why is Compensation in Illinois Greater Than Many Other States?

Cost of Living has a significant impact. 90% of the companies are located in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The cost of living index in Chicago is 116.2 (with 100 being the U.S. metro average). Similarly, San Francisco and New York have higher costs of living (163.2 and 233.5, accordingly) , and have higher average executive pay.

Current compensation rates may be artificially high. Until January of 2011, Illinois had one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the U.S., at just 4.8%. Theoretically, this allowed companies to pass along greater amounts of their revenues to employees and investors. However, the state temporarily raised their corporate tax rate to 7%, which has made it less competitive. According to Connie Beard, tax director for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, “It’s a significant deterrent to encouraging business location in Illinois.” Therefore, in coming years, we might begin to see a decrease in the compensation figures of Illinois executives.

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